Item Detail
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5342
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2
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0
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English
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Profile of Apostasy : Who Are the Bad Guys, Really?
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Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought
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Winter 1998
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31
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143-62
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This article tells the stories of four apostates from various religions, focusing on similarities between them to create a more accurate view of apostasy than the one commonly held by members of the Church. "The process of apostasy, like the phenomenon of belief, is too complex to submit to any facile explanation. yet I believe we can draw some useful conclusions from these four stories of apostasy. The profile of apostasy maintained from the genesis of the church to the present is not an accurate model for describing apostasy or apostates. There may be exceptions, such as plotting and self-serving John C. Bennett of Nauvoo, but more often those branded apostate are not evil, wicked, immoral, lacking in spirit, or trying to destroy their church or its leaders. I propose that we consider adopting a new and more accurate profile of apostasy." [Author]